Denny Hamlin reacts to Carson Hocevar skipping Xfinity Series for Cup Series

Denny Hamlin had some engaging thoughts following the news that Carson Hocevar would be the wheelman for Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 in 2024.

“So we had some off-track stuff this week. Little bit of news, as far as the musical chairs of seats go. We had Carson Hocevar, who signed with Spire,” Hamlin said, via his Actions Detrimental podcast. “That was not a very well kept secret there. But great for him. He’s going to completely skip over Xfinity, and go right to Cup.

“So I think a lot of that has to do with the results that he’s had, when he’s subbed so far for Noah Gragson. He’s had some great results.”

As Hamlin mentioned, Hocevar has run with Legacy Motor Club in many races throughout the season, following Gragson’s suspension. The No. 42 has looked good with him behind the wheel, and it certainly helped Hocevar land the No. 77.

As for where Hocevar should run next season, Hamlin believes he’ll be right around where his now-teammate at Spire runs, Corey LaJoie.

“I would say, they should probably, the expectations should be for him to run probably, on average, maybe two, three spots worse, than what he’s currently running in the No. 42. That’s just a guess. I have no idea. But that would put him in the range, of kind of where Corey [LaJoie] is at,” explained Hamlin. “You know, it’s interesting because you never kind of know within race teams, what resources are poured into what. Especially a team like Spire Motorsports. We, for the greater part, have not known what team gets the resources. You would think, well their under the same roof, they would be the same, but there’s an opportunity there, where maybe one team has the A-engine program, which means that whatever is the latest and greatest from Hendrick Motorsports, that’s what the No. 7 car, or No. 77 has. And I think maybe for awhile the No. 77 was a B-car, so it got all the stuff that was probably six months, eight months, probably a year behind. Maybe it was used more. You just don’t know.

“So as far as I understand, that No. 77 has the same thing that the No. 7 does. Now of course the No. 77 does not run kind of close to the No. 7 right now, so I think Carson should, in my opinion, should probably run as good as Corey LaJoie. That would be a good expectation next year, for him to run.”

Regardless, Denny Hamlin recognizes Carson Hocevar has a unique and amazing opportunity, and it’ll be interesting to see the veteran racing the young rookie in the Cup Series next season.